by PGL have revealed the 12 teams receiving direct invitations to PGL Bucharest 2025, a Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) tournament set to take place from April 6-13 in Romania’s capital.
The event will feature 16 teams competing for a share of the US$1,250,000 prize pool, which has been restructured to split evenly between players and organisations.
Invited Teams
- Astralis
- Eternal Fire
- FaZe Clan
- FURIA Esports
- GamerLegion
- G2 Esports
- The MongolZ
- paiN Gaming
- Team Falcons
- Team Liquid
- Virtus.pro
- 3DMAX
The remaining four spots will be determined through regional qualifiers across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
Despite invitations being extended based on the February 3 Valve Regional Standings (VRS), some of the biggest names in CS2 have opted out.
Natus Vincere, Team Spirit, and Team Vitality have again prioritized other competitions, while PGL Cluj-Napoca champions MOUZ have surprisingly declined their invite.
MOUZ, who secured a major confidence boost and crucial VRS points with their Cluj-Napoca victory, will instead be attending BLAST Open Lisbon and IEM Melbourne, possibly using this as a strategic break before their next major event.
G2, Team Liquid, and FURIA Esports, who previously skipped PGL Cluj-Napoca due to concerns over revenue distribution, have returned following PGL’s updated prize pool structure.
Meanwhile, Eternal Fire continues their relentless tournament schedule, and Cluj-Napoca finalists Team Falcons will also be in attendance.
Unlike traditional arena-based events, PGL Bucharest 2025 will take place at PGL Studios, the organizer’s dedicated in-house esports facility.
Looking ahead, PGL unveiled a 2026 tournament calendar featuring events in Romania, Kazakhstan, and Serbia.
However, their recently announced 2027 event is set to clash with a BLAST tournament, creating a scheduling conflict that could force top teams to choose between the two, potentially giving lower-ranked teams a rare opportunity at top-tier competition.
With a revamped prize pool structure and some of the best teams in attendance, PGL Bucharest 2025 is shaping up to be one of the key events in the CS2 competitive circuit this year.
?? Presenting the directly invited teams for PGL Bucharest 2025! ????
?? The final four spots? They’ll be earned through the Closed Qualifiers! ???#PGLBucharest pic.twitter.com/ePuVwdIFpP
— PGL (@pglesports) March 3, 2025
